Redistricting trial starts with argument over Muldoon-Eagle River political annulment

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Friday’s Superior Court case involving Alaska’s new political boundaries started with the Muldoon-Eagle River proposed divorce.

The trial is combining a number of challenges to Alaska’s newly redrawn political boundaries. Friday’s proceedings were about the East Anchorage challenge, in which Democrat operatives Felisa Wilson, George Martinez, and Yarrow Silvers have their day in court to challenge the combination of Eagle River and Muldoon populations into one Senate District L.

The only constitutional requirement is that two House districts must touch to make up a Senate district. Martinez and his co-challengers are arguing that the new map dilutes some people’s votes. But that argument is difficult for Martinez to make because there is no constitutional directive that a Senate district must also be socioeconomically integrated.

There are also two boroughs suing because they don’t want to be associated with each other: Mat-Su Borough and Valdez are asking for what is essentially an annulment of the political marriage that the Redistricting Board gave them.

The Skagway’s challenge to the board is that they have been forced into political matrimony with north Juneau — the Mendenhall Valley, Auke Bay, and Lena Beach areas, which is geographically closer to Skagway. The Skagway Borough says it wants to be married to Downtown Juneau because those people are more like Skagway people. Until Southeast Alaska’s population shrunk, it was not an issue because there were five districts in Southeast, while now there are four.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews said it will be an 11-day trial, with each of the five challenges getting a single day devoted to their dispute with the Alaska Redistricting Board’s final maps. The trial is being broadcast online.

9 COMMENTS

  1. RE: “The Skagway Borough says it wants to be married to Downtown Juneau because those people are more like Skagway people.”

    Sad to learn this. Figured it was a conservative town. Always wanted to visit Skagway. A Friend of mine pioneered the road out of Skagway years ago. Cost Him part of His foot when His drill slid on a steep slope while held by a tugger line. He became a barber for a while, then went back to construction as a driller. Had a crude wooden prothesis that filled the front of His boots and shoes. Technology wasn’t very advanced at the time… RIP Mike

  2. Is George Martinez the guy who recently moved from New York City to Anchorage and then ended up with a job working for Berkowitz? And then didn’t he run for mayor? If so, this guy is a political gadfly who now seems to have a lot of free time. But does he have standing to argue the Muldoon/Eagle River districting?

    A quick internet search indicates that he has had three different residence addresses since 2019. His current address appears to be at East 43rd, 99508.

    • Isn’t Kelly Tshibaka the woman who recently moved from Washington, D.C., and then ended up with a job with Governor Dunleavy (as well as her husband getting a made-up position with Dunleavy, and then another position with Mayor Bronson), and is now running for U.S. Senate? Didn’t she falsely claim her parents were homeless?

      • TB — Don’t forget to mention that Alaska (i.e. “we”) paid $80,000.00 to move the Tshibaka family to move from Maryland to Alaska a couple of years ago.

  3. They will use the “living constitution” theory to declare an absolute right to communism, allowing them to carefully gerrymander a Democrat majority

  4. Intristing. Riight to a lawsuit. What’s the point. Exactly. Did we ever want to country build? Alaska is a big empty state where no $ is being made. Nor will it ever be made due to the cult of democrat lockdowns. That will retard Alaska’s development by more than two hundred years. You will not actualize your endeavors here either. You will waste your life energy among essentially bad people. What ever skill you brought to Alaska your children will not develop nor inherit any proceeds from. The people you will meet and mingle with are in various stages of alcoholism to cope. It took 200 years of “country” building to get to the nation building with the Lee’s Declaration of Independence and these people were internationally educated men of exceptional good will and principles. They “lost” everything in the process. The shards of their nation are gladsomely now being systemically destroyed by communists. Alaska is already the hell which is the communists American dream.

  5. I don’t really want my representative living in Eagle River. We had Anna Faircloth before 2010 and she didn’t really represent my neighbors.

  6. They wouldn’t do “this” to you in Moose Pass. I would therefore like to marry and conjoin from this day forward with my darlings Moose Pass and Whittier for we are more compatible. I am serious!

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